Time to Grow
by TheTimeMan4
Summary: This is a story about time. How it passes, and everything within it for a boy with immense power. Right from the moment he escaped from Hydra captivity.
1. Chapter 1

Light. Finally, the light. It completely flooded the room, bathing everything, and yet he'd much rather drown in it than suffer at the hands of his captors anymore.

Three long months had passed, each day filled with injections, internal scans, torture techniques. After the first week he'd given up on thinking about what was outside. Where he was. The only clue he had was a central red skull with tentacles oozing out. He'd seen it on the wall outside, and on the uniforms of the doctors that worked on him.

But this wasn't the familiar red and black dullness that greeted him. No, this was blinding, with nobody blocking it. He stood up slowly, cautious of any hidden attackers. The dust that had collected on his feet floated off when he moved out of the cell he'd called home. As he did, the ground shook and became uneasy. The boy leaned to a wall, supporting his weakened body, keeping it upright. A glance back to the dark empty room showed the space where the door was before, no light peering from any Windows or gaps. Not even a whisper dare make itself known. But not anymore. Now the explosions rocketed, burst of noise echoing to wherever he was from outside. Screams and bombs and carnage, flooding his ears. He needed food, water, a proper place to live, that much he knew. But what he knew to do first...

Run.

And run he did, dashing through cracking corridors. He avoided the odd guard running for cover, dust building up on his hair. He had to find that room. Every night he'd see it-the corridor, the door, the girl inside...something about her. Not quite right.

He followed his route, his veins occasionally changing to a royal blue glow as he saw where to go next. His breathing grew heavy, skin breathing unstaled air for the first time in a while. Outside the door he'd ran to were two guard, faithful to the last. As they raised their weapons, his veins glowed again-and instantly turned those guns to dust. "Run while you can," he threatened half-heartedly. They ran. The coast cleared, he did the same trick to the lock, yanking the door wide open. Almost the same room presented itself as his own, the only difference being the slow shifts of a girl on the bed, eyes squinting from the light. "Come with me."

 **Hello fellow Avengers xD Any comments would be greatly appreciated, thanks for reading down to the bottom xD**


	2. Chapter 2

5 minutes earlier...

The dark masses of two soldiers stood amongst the eerily bare trees. The onset of winter had shredded away the leaves, the skeletal remains of the bark left reaching out and up. "How'd we get stuck with the night shift?" He sounded afraid, barely hiding it with annoyance.

"Well next time you guard the most powerful being on the pl-"

Before the second could finish, a flash of red, white and blue collided with his head. Slicing its way through the dark, it bounced off a nearby trunk before slamming into the next man's jaw. The shield then fell to the floor, peaceful silence resuming. A large man clad in patriotic clothing soon retrieved the weapon, strapping it back to his arm. "Sam, what's the situation? We need those specs." Steve seemed more determined to take this base down than most-the last known Hydra base. Somehow since Sokovia they'd struggled on for a little while longer, like a spider tries to crawl with legs missing.

Above the trees zoomed past Sam in his Falcon jet suit, his red visors showing a detailed scan of the hidden base. "There's still a few guys in the forest Cap," he replied over the thruster noise. "But there's a tonne of activity within the lower levels."

"I'm guessing that's where they're keeping the two of them," the familiar voice of Natasha appeared almost out of nowhere, followed by her slim figure. "You sure it's the wisest of decisions to keep out 'heavy guns' out of this Steve?"

The super soldier paused to think, reassuring himself before anyone else. "Wanda's too close to the mission. And Tony still doesn't want Vision in the spotlight yet, not until we know as much as we can." Suddenly the sky filled with cannon blasts, dimming the light from the moon. Steve urgently pressed his earpiece. "Sam? Sam, do you copy?"

Above them, the winged hero was forced to swoop right, left, up, down, desperately dodging each blast. "I guess we lost the element of surprise, huh," he would've laughed if he had a moment to. "Could use some help up here Rhodes."

Steve sighed before giving out the orders. "Plan B. Rhodey, we'll need you to be the distraction for the Hydra forces whilst we infiltrate the base. But we can't destroy the base too much-we still don't know where the two powered individuals they captured are at."

Up ahead, a black figure burst through the sky, a red core powering the arsenal of weapons he had in his possession. As he pulled up to the building, he readied the machine gun on his arms and the massive barrel gun on his shoulder, aiming it towards the cannons. "Don't worry Bird Brain, I've got you covered," he playfully jousted before releasing a wave of bullets.

The distraction gave Sam enough time to manoeuvre over the top of the building towards the courtyards. "At least I'm not carrying every weapon Shwartznegger ever used in a movie." As he landed in the open area, his wings gracefully slammed one of the soldiers across into a brick wall, before acting as a shield to deflect the bullets fired at him. Sam pulled out his gun and quickly retaliated.

Rhodey switched between his repulsor blasts and machine guns, pausing every now and then to dodge a blast. One managed to clip him slightly, sending him spiralling to the ground. However, he soon rose up from the dents in the ground be made, flying up once again, more angry than hurt.

On the ground, Steve and Natasha ran as fast as they could, the former's greater speed meaning he inched forward. However, the odd Hydra soldier being punched and slammed by his shield meant they stayed at the same pace. "There's the entrance," he pointed out as they reached a clearing in the trees.

As they continued another soldier burst in panic, not saying a word. As he lifted his gun, Natasha jumped and wrapped her legs around his throat, skilfully taking him down whilst snatching his key card to open the doors with. With a small smile she waved the card at him, before the guard was slammed into a tree.

Steve arrived at the door, waiting a couple of seconds for his teammate. He looked around in the forest, not finding any other soldiers close by. As he did Natasha arrived and quickly swiped the key card at the lock. An automated voice calmly spoke to them. "Retinal scan required."

The two of them rolled their eyes, before hailing Rhodey. "We need some help from above Rhodes. Can you blast the door?"

From above, the machine-clad Avenger quickly aligned itself, before firing a small missile at it. Steve had moved in front of Natasha, and used his shield to protect them from any debris. The explosion was just enough to destroy the door, and the two quickly made their way indoors.

"Sam, they made it inside," Rhodes updated the teammate. "What's your situation?" As he asked, he dashed away from the missiles aimed right at his chest. He quickly fired off some machine gun fire, causing a large explosion.

Sam was in a tight spot, sliding further into a corner every second. About half a dozen soldiers were on the ground, but in no time at all he had been outnumbered. "Could use some help here," he shouted through the gunfire. Bullet upon bullet hit his wings, the red paint chipping away. And then...all of a sudden...nothing.

It took a minute to register, but Sam's face was burrowed in confusion as he slowly rose up. All the men were in position to shoot, but they were still. Statue-like. Then the Avenger saw them. A boy and a girl. Both looked malnourished and tired. The girl hid behind the boy, her dark red-brown hair covering her face. The boy's skin was glowing blue, as if he was using powers. Or maybe he was-why else would everything just stop?

Sam started cautiously moving towards the two, pressing at his earpiece. "Guys...I found them."

 **Hey guys, thank you to ScarletAvengerLauren for the follow right off the bat ? Leave a review if you liked it enough to read to the end of the page ? 'Till the next time**


	3. Chapter 3

"Guys, I found them. A boy and a girl. They're...they have powers."

Steve and Natasha both stopped in their tracks to reconsider their next move. The former quickly replied, watching Nat's concerned face. "Are they hostile?"

"Negative," he replied, almost next to them. "Seems the guy's got a grudge against the soldiers." He focused on the two of them-how the guy stood in front of the girl protectively. Closer to the action, Sam realised it was his veins that glowed. He wasn't entirely sure how best to talk to them, but he knew he had to try. "Hey. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Sa-"

"Wilson," the boy replied. Up close, he looked around 18, but it was hard to tell with the glow around him. "It's not your...fault."

Sam was confused by his comment. "Wha...what do you mean? What's not my fault?"

The kid seemed to be in pain, like a headache had spread around his entire body. "Your friend's death. The fighter pilot." In his head, the kid could see it-the planes, the explosions.

Sam's face showed a sorrow he had buried a long time ago. The last person he told that story to was Steve, nearly two years ago. Since then, being the Falcon had meant it was all but a story from the distant past. Forgetting the soldiers firing at an empty space, he talked to his earpiece once again. "Cap...the guy whose here...well, you'll have to see it for yourself."

Seeing that he wasn't out to hurt them, the girl moved away from the boy to her own space. "Are you taking us back? Back home, I mean?" Now her hair revealed her face, showing that underneath the dirt from her cell was a beautiful young girl, but at the edge of tears streaming down her face.

"We're gonna get you out of here," he replied, focusing back on the job at hand. "Is it just you two here?"

"I...think so," she was unsure of herself. "I'm sorry, I'm not much use. I didn't even know what was happening when..." She turned to the mysterious boy, Sam's head following. "He found me."

Sam eyed him up, unsure of what to say to the kid. He turned back to the girl. "What's your name?"

"I'm Felicity," she replied quickly, sensing a need for urgency. "I don't know his name."

BOOM

A large cracking sound filled the air, as the constructs around them started to collapse. The turrets and cannons beside them were all firing at the building. Alarmed, Sam quickly communicated with his team. "Dammit Rhodey, we said not too much damage!"

"It's not me," he protested, adjusting his flight to stay in one spot. He'd stopped firing missiles, focusing in using he technology in the suit. "Everything's coming down, I'm headed to your location Sam."

"Us too," Natasha quickly imputed before spinning on the ground and taking down two guards. Steve was just behind, slamming one through a window with his shield before kicking another on his face. Both dashed as fast as they could, impeded by the odd piece of debris.

"Oh God," Felicity burrowed her face in her hands. "This is all my fault."

Sam turned his concentration back to her. "Hey, this is gonna be alright. It's not your fault."

"You don't understand," she replied, lifting her head. "I... I built a bomb." Her face showed her regret.

His, on the other hand, was full of confusion. "I'm sorry, you built a bomb?! How? You're a kid." He looked around quickly to make sure they weren't in danger.

"Well... These people, they gave me...abilities. I can just make...things. Y'know, technical stuff." She seemed half-committed to her explanation. "I don't know, it's new to me too. I just... I didn't want anyone else to go through the same thing. Or worse."

"Okay," a filtered voice came through as War Machine landed with a thud. "So how exactly does that affect the cannons?"

"It was a smart bomb, an Electroreconfigurationemitter. I made up the name." Blank expressions met her. "A smart bomb, okay? One that redirected their systems on itself."

"Tony would be proud," Rhodey sarcastically commented. But before anyone could reply, a large pillar collapsed, it's shadow encompassing the four figures. "Brace for impact." Sam's wings covered both him and Felicity, but it wouldn't be enough to protect them from harm. Rhodey could hold out due to his armour, but getting out after would be the trouble.

But it never came down. After a few seconds they looked back up to see the pillar, at rest above their heads. To their side, the boy was straining, keeping the construct in place. The sheer willpower was draining him quickly, his veins glowing much brighter than before. Meanwhile, Felicity had noticed the guards now moving normally. Before they could fire their weapons at them, she quickly displayed her powers-the spare guns from the War Machine armour ripped away, floating in the air before combining to make a missile array system. She quickly made use of it, sending the soldiers flying. Her excitement was short-lived, however, as the boy soon collapsed to the ground. With it, the glow disappeared, revealing a peaceful sleep he was undergoing. The pillar began to fall once again, but this time Rhodey and Sam managed to swipe Felicity and the boy away from the area.

The corridors started to collapse and give in, screams echoing from those that remained. The two Avengers desperately scrambled their way through, the red and blue costume of the Captain's slowly dirtying and turning grey. "Where's the entrance to the courtyard? Nat?"

She was catching up, having slowed down once or twice to electrocute a couple of guards. "Left," she seemed out of breath due to the dust, "then straight on." Both followed, but the light at the end doorway grew smaller and smaller, rock and brick building up like a wall. "Guys," she spoke through her earpiece. "Could use a hand with an exit strategy."

Sam looked around on all sides. "Which side are you both located," he asked, noticing the worsening conditions of the building.

"East side," she shouted over the explosions. "We're trying to reach you, but our chances aren't looking good alone."

"Rhodey," Steve called him out. "Can you blast through the east entrance?"

Outside, he quickly turned to face where the door ought to be, a mechanical whir emitting when he did. "I'm on it Cap."

"Good. Sam, bring the Quinjet to the courtyard area-it's the only place we can take off from now."

"You got it boss," he quickly used a panel on his arm, like a remote control. The distant engine noise could be heard from in the forest, headed this way.

Repulsor blast jettisoned the debris away blocking the doors, and a couple of seconds afterwards the two Avengers came charging towards the group. "What's our ETA on the jet," Steve asked his comrade.

"Just ten secs," he quickly replied, concentrating on the screen.

Steve seemed conflicted-the mission to retrieve the two was completed, but at what cost? Such carnage around him reminded him of the war. Of the bases he saw turn to ash then too. Hopefully this would be the last.

His train of thought was broken by the gush of air from the jet engines above them. Falcon carried Natasha and Felicity, one in each hand, whilst the stronger War Machine flew the two men into the jet. Seconds later, the vehicle zoomed away from the burning embers that remained.

The four Avengers all stood around where the mysterious boy was laying, Felicity perched next to him. "Now then," Nat replied, her voice remaining calm despite the danger they were all just in. "We just need to find out who you are," all eyes glared towards him, each curious, in awe and afraid simultaneously.

"I...might be able to help a little," Felicity meekly added. "I think I know what he can do. His powers."

"Please enlighten us," Sam stood, his arms crossed, "'cause what he did back there was crazy."

"I...I think he can control time."

 **Thank you GraceHeart27 for the fave, and to ScarletAvengerLauren for your review 😊 If you like what you're reading please let me know in the reviews**


	4. Chapter 4

During the flight the group splintered off- Rhodey and Sam started talking and lightly bickering like school children, whilst Natasha was flying the ship. Despite looking to be completely focused, she was listening in to the conversations behind her, smirking occasionally.

And then, in a corner of the jet, Steve stood over the mysterious boy, whilst Felicity sat next to him. "I don't understand," the super soldier shook his head in disbelief. "You can't just control time."

"It's just what I heard some of the guards say," the girl replied, moving her hair behind her ears. At some point someone had given her a blanket and water-the first signs of comfort and care she'd experienced in a while.

"Steve, you know me," Sam started to agree, "I'd take this with a pinch of salt normally. But...why else would a whole squad start going all Musical Statues on us?"

The super soldier couldn't explain it either, so his response was just a cautious stare back at the boy. Controlling time...Steve had seen many things that contradicted his beliefs of God and man, but this one took the cake. "If anyone can shed some light here, Stark can. I'll try and call him once we've landed."

The trip didn't last much longer, as the Quinjet flew into the hanger bay doors at the Avengers compound. It was a fairly strategic move-the secluded space in upstate New York would be better to help the two teenagers. Once the engines had died down to silence, the doors opened for the team to be let out. Sam and Rhodey both pushed the bed with the boy on it, rushing him off. Nat followed with Felicity, making an effort to not be as cold as everyone saw her as. Steve left last, his mask helmet having been taken off just before. A phone was planted to his ears.

A long way away, the billionaire Tony Stark slept like a baby-a rare occasion-in a hotel. He'd spent most of his free time in Japan after the destruction of Sokovia, considering building his next skyscraper in the heart of Tokyo. Between that and the September Foundation Plans, he didn't have time to remake JARVIS. So when his phone rang on the counter, it was FRIDAY that spoke through the device. "You've got a call boss."

Stark slowly sat up, eyes squinting in the early sunlight as it shone through his window. "If it's that 'Fuji-wawa' company, tell them I'm not interested." He was defiantly half asleep-he knew all the names of his competitors, especially those that wanted to merge with his.

"This might be a bit more urgent," the female AI voice replied. "It's Steve Rogers, boss. Should I sti-"

"No no, it's fine," he stumbled out of his slumber, rubbing his eyes awake. "I got it." He stared at the phone for a second, his brain taking a minute to decide what to press, before he casually pressed one. "Capsicle, remind me to teach you about time differences between New York and Japan," he held a weak smile.

"Good to hear from you too Tony," he replied half-sarcastically. "We need your help on som-"

"Surely Cho and Selvig can handle this," he quickly objects, knowing what he still has to do. "Not that I don't love being the cleverest guy in the room, but-"

"Tony," he interjects, "...we found more teenagers used as Hydra experiments."

Stark straightened up, curious. On file, they all thought that Hydra only succeeded with the Maximoff twins. But if new bases had later success... "What are we talking?"

"Well..." Steve peered towards where Nat was talking to Felicity. "A girl who apparently can make any electronic item with stuff around her. A-"

"A technokinetic," the genius added swiftly. "I'm jealous."

"But there's another guy... From what the team's seen we're talking the same level of power as Wanda."

The fear of how this power could be used was infectious, moving from Steve to Tony on separate sides of the Earth. "Alright, I'll get there ASAP. Peace out." Before he could reply, Tony flicked the phone off and told FRIDAY to book a first-class ticket back to JFK Airport.

Steve made his way into the base, catching up to Natasha. "How's the girl," he sounded concerned, but also kept himself level-headed.

The once-assassin knew he was approaching, but turned briefly to see what state of mind he was in. "Shaken. Obviously. Doesn't seem to be hurt in any way. She did keep on asking this other guy."

"Speaking of which, do we have anything on him? Identity, name?"

"Well," she lifted a tablet and handed to the Captain, who studied it. "So far there's nothing. But if Hydra wanted to kidnap anyone, they probably would remove all of their details from record. I'll see if Tony can hack them back in, so to speak." She paused as they entered a fairly empty room. Inside was Dr. Cho, working but relaxed in nature. She quickly looked up to see who the visitors were. "His body was just exhausted, like he'd ran for a hundred miles or something. I'm feeding him an IV pack now, so hopefully he'll be up soon." As Nat pulled away to inspect the boy, the doctor moved closer to Steve. "There's something else too." He leaned in to listen. "His arm didn't look too healthy. It seemed like he'd been...hurt. Attacked or-"

"Tortured-"

"Tortured." The two voices spoke together, the latter being the boy's, whose body started to glow the same blue from before. Almost a second later he jumped up, as if nothing was wrong. He still glowed that blue when he looked amongst the room. "Rogers...is that it? I'm getting that in here," he pointed to his head. Before anyone could reply he rubbed his forehead. "It's not your fault."

Steve took a step closer, confused. "What's not my fault?"

A long pause came before the boy replied. "Bucky's situation...he fell from the train protecting you..."

Nat could see Steve almost freeze in shock, so she took over speaking. "How do you know all this?"

"I...I can see it," he replied, the light dimming from his skin. Without it, he looked like a normal teenager. "I can see into the past...and the future."

Nat sat down on the chair next to the bed, calming the situation. "Do you know your name?"

"My name's Joshua."

 **I'm sorry-schoolwork means less time for writing :( but at least I left you keen readers a comic book Easter egg xD but thank you to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed this story, please leave a review below ?**


	5. Chapter 5

Joshua's brown eyes were wide, in confusion almost. His black hair was slightly disheveled still from the escape, and his clothes were battered and old. He wasn't used to the spotlight before, and now two founding Avengers were giving him it.

"So Joshua," Natasha remained cool despite the powers he displayed. "Can you tell me about how you got here? How you got your powers?"

He slowly sat up in his bed, wary of the super soldier stood silently watching. "I...I got them a few months ago. I kept on getting the lottery numbers right," he chuckled lightly, the others doing the same. "I had nightmares of different wars. That's how it started. Then one day the soldiers came..."

His head drooped momentarily, but as the two Avengers went to ask him more, he shot up. "My home, can you look it up? I need to know what's happened, please?"

Steve was now next to Nat, still standing tall. "We'll see what we can do, but for a while- until we know for sure you won't inadvertently destroy anything-we'd like you to stick around with us for a while."

Josh nodded in reply, starting to slide out of the bed. As he did, Nat moved the conversation on. "Well, Stark's gonna see where your powers originate from when he gets here, so I'm not sure we need you to do anything for now." She stood up, much smaller in height than Steve. "But I know the girl you saved at the base, Felicity, would like to catch up at some point."

The teen gave a light smile as he stood up, detached the IV bag, and walked out of the room slowly. As he did both turned to one another. Steve was the first to speak. "I never told anyone that he was saving me Nat." He looked at the door, staring at the images of the past. He soon clicked back, however. "Could he know from the Smithsonian? Information about Bucky, I mean."

"I know he hit a nerve Steve," she calmly replied, "but it doesn't sound like he's lying about this."

"I know. That's what frightens me."

Guantanamo Bay

Deep in the prison's darkest hole stayed the most dangerous criminal that stayed here. Beforehand SHIELD had held him, but after that fell a man called Phil managed to ship him here. Code Name: Abomination.

The green figure had been confined to a containment cell ever since the Hulk knocked him out in 2008. Since then, he tried to punch through with no effect, which was one of the few reasons the staff actually took possession of the cell. He hadn't escaped in 6 years, why would he now?

A few guards stood still, the dimly lit room showering over their dirt-green uniforms. Each held a machine gun in their hands, guarding the cell with their lives. A couple would talk in a foreign language now and again, but generally the only noise was the shuffle of boots. Not even the monster within made much of a sound anymore.

A loud clang. Like metal hitting metal. The four men lifted their weapons and aimed them for the dark doorway. Two at the front, two behind near the cell lock. No one else was on shift with them, so they had to prepare. What they didn't prepare for was the vent system to open up above them. As it crashed down, a soldier in a shade of purple skilfully dropped down to kneel on the ground and shoot the two front men. As the latter began to react, another man peered his upper body from the hole in the ceiling, shooting them with two pistols. Four shots in a manner of seconds, then silence. A pause, to see if anyone would come running. The intruders were relieved no one was. The man hung from the ceiling jumped down, followed swiftly by another who seemed to be in charge. Whilst the others seemed to hang back and keep the entrance clear, the leader moved towards the cell door, taking off his mask to reveal a middle-aged man with a scar resting on his cheek. His light blond hair was disheveled from the mask, and he'd left stubble from his shave. But he didn't care, for there was a war to be fought. He knocked on the metal cage, despite being unable to see the prisoner. "Mr Blonsky, it's an honour to meet." He waited for any response...

BANG

The man moved his hand behind his hands. "I know you'd kill me right now if you could, but I also know who you really hate for putting you here, in this...box. Now, SHIELD has died away, but we can deliver you to the next best thing- the Avengers. The Hulk's friends. You remember him right? The guy who nearly chocked you to death?" He paused again, but continued when he got no response. "Wanna kill them?" He asked with a big grin on his face.

BANG BANG BANG

As the creature battered the cage as hard as he could, the man slowly and calmly used the computer system to unlock the door...

"Woah," Joshua whispered to an empty room-where the kitchen and table was. He'd originally set out to look for Felicity to talk, but instead found himself lost in the corridors. "How come every room here is basically bigger than my flat?" He spun around as he approached the centre, eyeing everything in curiosity. He paused when he saw another room in the distance, through at least two layers of glass. It seemed like a conference room-one he'd seen before in his head.

"You've operated with unlimited power and no supervision..."

"...the Sokovia Accords..."

"What happens if we refuse?"

"Then you retire-"

"I presume you are one of the two people," a present-day British accent disrupted him, "who Captain Rogers brought back from Germany?"

As Joshua turned quickly to see, he almost jumped back at the odd appearance of the Vision. His voice seemed kind-if not a little robotic, and he wore a green jumper and beige trousers. But his actual skin was green and red, with a yellow gem planted on his forehead. "Um...hi there...so, you're...green?"

"Dot worry 'bout him," a familiar voice called out from behind the figure. Sam had taken off his Falcon armour, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "He's just Vision." He opened the black fridge door and grabbed a beer bottle.

"I understand it must be a bit odd," the robot reasons calmly, seating himself near the lounge.

The teenager had now converted his shock to slight fascination. "So you're a robot? Cool!" It was almost like a 6 year old was living his weird nerd dream with the future technology that could exist. "How did they build you? Don't worry, I'll ask later. Oh," he quickly turned to Sam, who had drunk a few gulps already. "Listen man, I'm so sorry about before. I didn't know what I was seeing, just-"

One hand of Sam's clapped Joshua's shoulders. "It's cool, it was just a surprise. We knew nothing about any of your powers, nor that...seeing the past was possible." Vision raised his head up to listen intently at this comment, but remained quiet.

"Thanks," he lightly smiled before holding his hand out. "I'm Joshua by the way."

"Sam."

They'd barely shook hands when a voice shocked them. "You two boys finished bro-ing out yet?" Nat smirked at the two, her footsteps silent as she made her way to them.

Sam lightly chuckled at her before replying. "Well I figured I owed him one. He saved my ass twice out there today."

In her head, she saw taking him away from the Hydra base as making that even. But she didn't say so, instead changing the subject. "I thought you went to find Felicity," she almost asked Joshua. She had to make sure he wasn't going to leave, but she didn't believe he would. If he wanted to, he would have.

"I was, but there's no maps here or anything," he protested with a smile. "I ended up in a broom cupboard twice," he added defeatedly.

With a little chuckle from almost everyone (not the Vision due to his lack of sense of humour), Nat signalled for him to follow. "I'll take you."

Joshua started to keep up with the Avenger, waving lightly to the two before exiting. "I'll catch up later." He quickly jogged to end up next to her, showing that he was quite a bit taller than her. "So, how is she? Felicity, I mean. Did she get hurt?"

Nat kept her speed up, walking past a few doctors and scientists. "She seems relatively okay. Better than you, at least." She got a glimpse of the end of a scar poking through his sleeve. "You said you were tortured. How bad was it?"

"I'm fine," he quickly responded, wanting the whole topic to be done with. In doing so however, he'd shown a nerve to her.

She waited a second before pulling at it. "Y'know...you don't have to be-"

"Look..." He stopped for a second, which in turn made Nat stop as well. "I've had a weird life before powers and Avengers and Hydra came into my life. I know how to handle it." Despite what he said, he spoke with a slight nervous stammer that came with his emotion. Nat could tell something was being held back. She could always tell.

"Fine," she moved on, turning round a corner, being followed once again. "Felicity's through there. Second door on the right. Knock yourself out kid." She managed a small grin before disappearing once again.

Knock Knock

Felicity had been given clean comfort clothes since she arrived, and the opportunity to shower and do her hair like a normal teenager was too good to resist. She was just doing the last combing when the door knocked. She quickly got up from her cross-legged position on the bed, before opening it to show Joshua. "Um, hey. Felicity, right?" He seemed nervous to speak to her, his hands playing with one another.

"Yeah, that's me," she replied, chirpy. "Come on in, don't mind the slight mess." Before he could object, she pulled him in swiftly. He even stumbled a little, before having a quick look around. The room was bare since none of her actual possessions were in here. "They never told me your name," she brought his attention away from the surroundings. The tip of her slightly red hair was still a bit damp from the shower, but wearing now her clean face it was evident she was the prettiest girl Joshua ever really talked to.

"Oh right," he held his hand out and smiled. "I'm Joshua." Back before all of this, he wasn't popular or anything. He'd much rather have a few friends, though, than loads who would sound like 'duhhhh' and 'wha-ever'.

But she didn't seem this way with him. Probably due to the experience they shared being held captive, he thought. Was he overthinking this? Yes.

"Joshua," she gently shook his hand as she continued, "you saved my life."

"Don't worry 'bout it," he replied quickly. "You seem alright, did they do anything to you?"

She shook her head. "Just kept me waiting in that cell. But I... I could hear what they did to you." Joshua made sure not to let her see beneath his sleeve, but she picked up on it. "Why did they do it to you?"

He paused for a minute, eventually sitting down on the desk chair and twirling it around. Felicity sat back on the bed. "Because of you. And the Avengers, and SHIELD. I could see into all of them if I wanted to, give them information. They could change the future with that."

"I...I'm so sorry..." She started to quietly sob into her leg that was propped up and pertruding on the bed.

He quickly jumped up and made his way next to her. His arms wrapped around and brought her closer. "Hey, I'm fine," he replied softly. "I'm okay, you're okay, everything's gonna be alright. I promise."


End file.
